General Notes

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Note: Ptolemy II (309-246 bc), called Ptolemy Philadelphus(brotherly), king of Egypt (285-246 bc), the son of Ptolemy I byBerenice I (died before 283 bc). His wars with the Seleucid kingAntiochus I established Ptolemaic Egypt as the dominant maritimepower in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. The economy of thecountry was brought under government control and the culturallife at the Alexandrian court flourished under Ptolemy II; theGreek poets Callimachus and Theocritus were among the literaryfigures connected with the court. Ptolemy increased the numberof books in the Alexandrian library and was an active patron ofliterature and scholarship.

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Ptolemy II PHILADELPHUS

(Greek: Brother-loving) (b. 308 BC, Cos--d. 246), king of Egypt(285-246 BC), second king of the Ptolemaic dynasty, who extendedhis power by skillful diplomacy, developed agriculture andcommerce, and made Alexandria a leading centre of the arts andsciences.

Life

Reigning at first with his father, Ptolemy I Soter, he becamesole ruler in 283-282 and purged his family of possible rivals.This dynastic strife led also to the banishment of his firstwife, Arsinoe I, daughter of King Lysimachus of Thrace. Ptolemythen married his sister, Arsinoe II, an event that shockedGreek public opinion but was celebrated by the Alexandrian courtpoets. Taking advantage of the difficulties of the rivalkingdoms of the Seleucids and Antigonids, Ptolemy II extendedhis rule in Syria, Asia Minor, and the Aegean at their expenseand asserted at the same time his influence in Ethiopia andArabia. Egyptian embassies to Rome as well as to India reflectthe wide range of Ptolemy's political and commercial interests.

While a new war with the Seleucids (from 274 to 270) did notaffect the basic position of the rival kingdoms, the so-calledChremonidean War (268?-261), stirred up by Ptolemy againstAntigonus II Gonatas, king of Macedonia, resulted in theweakening of Ptolemaic influence in the Aegean and brought aboutnear disaster to Ptolemy's allies Athens and Sparta. Ptolemy wasno more successful in the Second Syrian War (c. 260-253),fought against the coalition of the Seleucid king Antiochus IIand Antigonus Gonatas. The unsuccessful course of the militaryoperations was compensated for, to a certain degree, by thediplomatic skill of Ptolemy, who first managed to lure Antigonusinto concluding a separate peace (255) and then brought the warwith the Seleucid Empire to an end by marrying hisdaughter, Berenice--provided with a huge dowry--to his foeAntiochus II. The magnitude of this political masterstroke canbe gauged by the fact that Antiochus, before marrying thePtolemaic princess, had to dismiss his former wife, Laodice.Thus freed for the moment from Seleucid opposition and sustainedby the considerable financial means provided by the Egyptianeconomy, Ptolemy II devoted himself again to Greece and arousednew adversaries to Antigonid Macedonia. While the Macedonianforces were bogged down in Greece, Ptolemy reasserted hisinfluence in the Aegean, making good the setback suffered duringthe Chremonidean War. He further improved his position byarranging for the marriage of his son (and later successor)Ptolemy III Euergetes to the daughter of King Magas of Cyrene,who had proved so far a very troublesome neighbour. Not aimingat outright hegemony (even less imperialistic conquest) in theHellenistic world of the eastern Mediterranean, Ptolemy II triednonetheless to secure for Egypt as good a position as possible,holding at large his rivals beyond a wide buffer zone of foreignpossessions. Without being completely successful, he managed tolet his allies bear the brunt of the heaviest reverses, healinghis own military wounds with diplomatic remedies. The influenceon Ptolemy of his wife and sister Arsinoe II, particularly inforeign affairs, was certainly substantial, though not asextensive as claimed by some contemporary